U.Va.'s Jon Tenuta brings his gruff style home | College football preview

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It only took linebacker Daquan Romero a single practice with new Virginia defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta to be reminded of another coach from Romero's past who isn't known for having a cuddly on-field attitude.

There was an instant connection.

"He's just like coach Dee," said Romero, comparing Tenuta to Bill Dee, an Old Dominion assistant coach and Romero's former coach at Phoebus High. "I like the aggressive style of coaching, the curse words. It's needed. It's the game of football.

"I'm not saying everybody needs to be cursed out all the time, but I feel like you need to know who's the alpha dog. (Tenuta) is the defensive coordinator, basically our head coach on defense."

Tenuta, 56, may not win many congeniality contests, but that's not his concern. He's got his hands full trying to reconstruct a defense at his alma mater that gave up too many points last season (28.9 per game; 70th in the nation out of 120 Bowl Subdivision programs) and didn't get the ball back enough (12 takeaways; 113th in the nation).

There's no mincing of words in Tenuta's world, no clever turns of phrase. The message is direct, and not open for interpretation.

"The ball is ours, go get it," said Tenuta, who also carries the titles of associate head coach for defense and linebackers coach at U.Va.

"I'd rather see guys go for the football and the interception than tear some guy's head off, because I want the ball back."

Though Tenuta doesn't advocate decapitation of opponents, he is a proponent of near-constant harassment. The ability to pressure quarterbacks is a prerequisite for playing in a Tenuta defense.

As North Carolina State's defensive coordinator last season, he helped lead the Wolfpack to 33 sacks (27th in the nation). Georgia Tech led the nation in sacks in 2007 with 48 in his sixth and final season as the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator. Georgia Tech also finished with 35 sacks in '06 (19th in the nation) and 36 sacks in '05 (16th in the nation).

Tenuta's aggressive nature will be a departure from last season's approach under former defensive coordinator Jim Reid, which resulted in just 17 sacks.

Tenuta will implore defensive ends Eli Harold and Jake Snyder, defensive tackles Brent Urban and David Dean and linebackers Demeitre Brim, Henry Coley and Romero — guys who combined to have just eight sacks last season — to ratchet up the pressure.

"I look at our defense as a pressure aspect to put some pressure on (offenses), and not just sit back and wait for them to see what happens," Tenuta said. "I make (the offense) try to make things happen."

During Tenuta's days as a defensive back at U.Va. from 1978-81 under former coach Dick Bestwick, the Cavaliers had a combined 13-31 record and never finished better than fourth in the ACC. It didn't get any better when Tenuta was a graduate assistant in the '82 season — a 2-9 disaster — under former coach George Welsh.

Now, with U.Va. coming off a 4-8 season, Tenuta has a chance to put his fingerprints all over what he hopes to be a turnaround. Coaching at U.Va. is a project he'd hoped he'd get to take on at some point in his career.

"To have the opportunity to come back and coach where you played, that's pretty cool for me," Tenuta said. "You coach at so many other places, you coach so many other kids, you want to be able to coach your own kids and you also want to coach where you played."